Last day!

Yesterday morning we visited Jackie's House Orphanage, which was a completely different experience than the first orphanage we visited.  There weren't nearly as many kids, and the facility was not quite as nice either.  The kids were, once again, so happy to see us and play with us as they showed us their few jump ropes and cats and dogs, or really whatever they had.  We brought play doh and puzzles and finger paint to play with, and everyone seemed to really have a nice time with their kids.  Unfortunately, the orphanage was so far away from SCORE that we only had a short amount of time to spend there, so we felt like we were leaving so soon, and I know my new friend Isa especially was so disappointed.  Before we left, however, the kids sang and danced 2 songs they had prepared for us (so cute!!!) then gathered in a circle and prayed in Spanish for us.  Augusto, our translator, relayed what they were saying to us, and it was so moving.  One of the oldest kids there, Israel, led the prayer, and it was really touching to hear him asking God to bless our lives and keep us safe and fulfill our wishes.  Israel is one of the children of incest, as I'd mentioned in a previous post, and cannot walk due to his legs being completely defected at birth.  He contemplated killing himself and his siblings at one point in his life because he felt like he was such a burden to his parents, but then he found God and came to the orphanage, and is now such a light there.  It was incredible to think of how much suffering he must have and how he just put that aside to pray for US, who really have virtually no problems compared to him.

From there we went more into the city to visit the "straw market," where we all sharpened our bartering skills.  I think everyone still came out with empty wallets, as the bracelets, machetes, picture frames, rings, walking sticks, hats, shirts, and other Dominican trinkets were just too tempting.

We left from the straw market to go the SCORE facility that is in the same complex as the Giants training center (I haven't mentioned this before, but literally everywhere we go there is a MLB training complex/recruiting center... and yes we did get a picture of the Phillies center!).  We had a picnic lunch together, and the sports broke up to go to their respective clinics.  It was storming really badly, though, so softball just watched either wrestling or swimming.  This time, swimming got to go to the Highlands pool and teach a group of local kids more swimming skills, which was a really interesting experience since we still don't know too much Spanish!  Several of the kids there were of Haitian descent, too, and only spoke Creole, so there was a lot of organized chaos going on.  Also, there are no such things as lifeguards or pool rules in the Dominican, so swimming in the pouring rain, crashing thunder, and lightning striking nearby is apparently 100% ok!  We were literally terrified but everything ended up just fine.

After clinics, we headed back to SCORE and had one last dinner and devotional, where we discussed what really impacted us this trip.  I think more than anything, we all just really bonded during our time together and formed valuable friendships that are sure to keep us accountable and on track during the school year.  Teammates are now so much more than just teammates, and that experience in of itself is invaluable.

Today we are visiting one last village this morning to distribute more water filters, then it's back to SCORE to pack up and leave around 1:30.  Our flight out of Santo Domingo is at 4, so we should arrive in Miami within about 1.5-2 hours from then.  I'm sure all of the parents and significant others will be receiving a flood of texts at that time, so be ready!!!  We will get back to BWI around midnight tonight, then load the bus for Messiah, so it's going to be a late one.  The forecast looks just fine so hopefully traveling will not be any sort of problem at all.  See you all soon! :)